A busy Sunday, Mexican style

My brother loved to travel - and travelled frequently - but unfortunately died too young. Greg and I have developed a tradition of lighting a candle in a church in any new place we visit, to somehow allow him to travel with us. Until recently, he shared that candle with my father, but in the past year we've added my mother and my brother's wife to that candle. It's a heavy load for one candle, but we like to keep them together. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a church open outside of service hours, and also to find ones where you are able to light a candle.

This is the Catholic church in Lo de Marcos. Today I decided to go with our friend, for my first experience of a mass totally in Spanish. Of course, I also hoped to light a candle. Unfortunately I wasn't able to light a candle, but nevertheless I thought of them while I was there.

They shouldn't leave the bell rope out, as that really tempts Greg!

Greg and I took these photos later in the day, as it was a 7 am service and it was dark at that time. That's a first for me too; to be at church that early in the morning. I'm not even Catholic, so I guess to be in church at all is unusual for me. However, I wanted to experience the Spanish service. While we were waiting for mass to start, I picked up the bulletin and started studying the Spanish.

As I was raised Catholic, I'm familiar with the service so it did give me a head start. However, I was puzzled until I figured out the word for fish and sin are very similar in Spanish - pescado and pecado - and the readings and sermon where about fish and fishermen and sins ... talk about confusing! 

You may remember from yesterday's post that we went to a fiesta in the park late in the afternoon. This morning I saw soccer shoes hanging from the overhead wires. My mind started thinking about the poor person this happened to, and how they would manage without them ...

... until I enlarged the photo for this blog. Look at the toe area on the lower shoe; it's certainly seen better days! In many poorer countries we've seen shoe repairs done on ones we would have just thrown away, and I wonder if that's the case with this pair. Perhaps they'll get a new lease on life when they're eventually retrieved.

We have yet to skip a day of walking at the beach, and today was no exception. We stopped here at mid-day and Greg had a meal. Good-sized fresh shrimp and cheese in an omelette, refried beans, a batch of warm tortillas, and a large freshly-squeezed orange juice. The grand total? Less than $4 U.S. I hope not too many people find out about this place, or things may change. I'd hate to see this town become another tourism centre, as that type of bargain would not continue.

We see people enjoying simple pleasures on the beach. Two young boys rode by on a horse, but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo, but they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. This pair, presumably father and son, were having a great time at the edge of the water, as the tide came in and out. Simple outdoor pleasures that create great childhood memories.

We made our way back home as we had a date for Sunday dinner. Many of my family members in Wales traditionally have a cooked Sunday dinner with all the trimmings. My cousin was aghast when I mentioned back in Canada we usually meet friends at a pub on Sundays for pizza. Pizza for Sunday dinner! What? So my cousin will be happy to hear we've started a Sunday dinner tradition. You can see Greg seriously clucking away as he waits for his order.

This is a popular spot for chicken orders, and it's quite organized. You need to write your order in a book - the day before - checking off exactly what you're ordering and what time you'll pick it up. For two Sundays in a row now we've had Sunday dinner at our place with our friends. In the upper photo you'll see they roast chickens and bake small potatoes and whole onions along the bottom, and on the grill in the lower photo they BBQ split chickens and also cook onions there.

We even had free delivery included today, as our friends picked up our order. We had a good-sized whole chicken, potatoes, and onions ... for less than $6 U.S. If I keep writing these reviews, if we want to come back next year we'll never find a place to stay as the town will be full :)

This was a relatively small flower, but we just loved its vibrant colour. Nature in all its glory, for which we give thanks.

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Location: Lo de Marcos, Nayarit, Mexico
Weather: High of 78ºF (26ºC), low of 71ºF (22ºC)

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